Mississauga Council Votes Against More Politicians at Peel Region

We are not going to spend taxpayers hard-earned money on more politicians, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said today, following Peel Council’s decision not to add more politicians to Regional Council.

There are currently 24 Peel Councillors. The defeated proposal would have increased the number of Councillors to 32, not including the Regional Chair. By some estimates, the additional 4 Mississauga councillors would result in nearly $3 million in upfront costs, followed by an additional $1.4 million annually in new expenditures.

“Mississauga brought forward a responsible and democratic solution,” Mayor Crombie said, adding that “our proposal would have ensured representation by population of all councillors, from each of the three lower-tier municipalities.”

Under the alternative plan, long championed by Mississauga Council, the existing number of Councillors would remain the same at 24 by keeping Mississauga at 12; reducing Caledon to 3 and increasing Brampton to 9.

Mayor Crombie concluded “we need to ensure that Peel works fairly and democratically for its largest municipality and tax base, Mississauga.”